Jutsu Training[IO][Training]

As with many things in the Hyuuga household, traditions stood which encouraged the family to train together. Training together strengthens both the skill of the shinobi, as well as the bonds between the family. Family in this sense for the Hyuuga family in questions, was a bit peculiar. The house of father Mao was a large assortment of children, most possessed the Hyuuga's treasured Byakugan and some did not. Some of the half siblings shared the bloodlines of their mothers: this had created a social structure within their family. Those born with the Byakugan were seen and accepted as the main family, while those without the bloodline were raised in a subservient role just as the previous clan did with the branch family. The only difference was that the Hyuuga's juuinjutsu curse wasn't applied to those children. The reason for that was more than likely that the father did not possess the skill himself to apply the seal to the children. He couldn't ask someone else either, for it was considered taboo now.

Even so, the main family practiced and trained with their half siblings of the branch family. Like all prominent families, proper training required a proper training area. A dojo of sorts, a large wooden building with smooth floors. The purpose of the building, was to train in privacy. While it was impossible to mimic the Hyuuga's Jyuken, the father still did not wish to allow others to see how they trained.

Mao, the eldest son was here today to do just that. To train. There was no roster or training schedule: the father preferred his children to learn at their own pace. Ever the eager son to please the father, Mao was here today and had sent word to his little sister Tsuki to join him. It wasn't uncommon to be asked to train with one of the siblings, the uncommon part was to come when Tsuki would arrive. She had learned much jutsu before him. As the eldest son, he couldn't afford to be left behind by his siblings. He sat on the floor mats, in his casual training clothing and awaited till his little sister entered. "Tsuki-chan, I hear you have been studying hard. Would you mind showing me the Transformation technique?"

To train with her own brothers? It had been a while since Tsuki did this. It wasn't uncommon in her family to practice with each other, but Tsuki considered herself different from the rest of her siblings. While they learned things in an exceptionally normal pace, Tsuki was fast with everything she did.

From the tenketsu needle to even the Palm Revolving Heaven, they were all simple techniques for her to learn. She just needed a short amount of time to herself, and they were conquered.

However, this did not mean she considered herself better than any of her other siblings. In fact, she thought herself average compared to her older brothers. She admired them, and had an especial admiration for her eldest brother, Mao.

Unlike their terrible father, Mao jr was wonderful with everything he did. He was cool, calm tempered and the perfect role model. Over anyone else in her family, Tsuki looked up to Mao the most. In her eyes, he could do no wrong.

Thus, when asked to train with the very Mao himself, Tsuki was far more than excited.

She didn't want to keep her brother waiting long, so she immediately hurried to the special training grounds when the time had come. Getting there, she discovered that her brother had arrived first, and was sitting in his casual clothing and waiting for her.

He looked so marvelous in Tuski's eyes, whereas Tsuki seemed so... Average. She wore her usual shorts for proper movement, and a white T shirt with the hyuuga clan logo on her chest. Maybe she should have worn her fancier kimono? Then she could at least be worthy of staying in Mao's presence.

However, Mao did not seem that bothered by it, and immediately went on to the reason he called her here. When he asked for her to show what she learned, Tsuki's heart skipped a beat. The wonderful Mao wanted to see what she could do? Tsuki was more than honored.

With her cheeks blood red, she casual walked into the training room and stood at the center.

Mao did not have to wait long, only for a couple of moments he sat and collected his thoughts. He sat with proper posture as his father taught him since a young age- Mao was to be the heir of the family head and was always reminded of that responsibility. His every thought and action inside the family house and outside in the village was controlled and presented in a way to reflect the kind of son his father had raised. To Mao, his siblings were the real legacy, not a name. Their father was harsh and strict, Mao himself was more kind and reaffirming to his siblings. He knew that eventually his father would die and it would take not an iron fist, but a gentle one to keep the family together.

Only moments later and Tsuki was entering the door, that brought Mao back to the present as he sat gracefully and admired his little sister. She did not look like a traditional Hyuuga, but she possessed the Byakugan and that was enough for the father's approval. She wore her usual clothing, that which she felt comfortable in and allowed her less restriction from movement. Mao didn't mind, especially here in the dojo where no one would disturb them. He remained seated when she entered and replied to his instructions. He smiled gently at her and thought for a moment. "Imitate father." he said after a moment of reflection. It was a simple instruction, one that Mao was sure that his talented adorable little sister could accomplish. Yet there was a deeper underlying reason to why Mao chose for Tsuki to imitate the father with the transformation technique. As the mirror of the father, Mao felt that it was only proper if the image he was training after, was that of his father himself.

Tsuki was surprised to hear her brother's request. She didn't think that anyone would want to look at their father's ugly face. Of course, that was probably just her bias since she absolutely hated her father. Even more, she hated taking on the appearance of that wretched man. However, she did agree to do this, so she might as well get it over with.

"Yes, brother," Tsuki happily said with a respectable bow.

She closed her eyes and focused. First she made the dog → boar → ram hand signs, then she stood quietly, charging her chakra. It was hard to transform into someone who was two feet taller than herself, so Tsuki had to really focus to get everything right.

She imagined in her head what her father looked like. She thought about the colors of his eyes, the form of his hair, the shape of his face, and the lines of his muscles. She thought about the clothes he wore and the way he stood tall above anyone else. Everything about her father that made him Mao Sr flooded into her mind.

When she had a clear picture, she used the technique.

"Transformation jutsu!" she shouted. and white smoke suddenly appeared all around her, covering up her entire body with a seemingly tiny explosion. It took a while for it to dissipate. When it did, Tsuki no longer stood at the center of the dojo.

What replaced her was a perfect copy of her father, the great Mao Hyūga senior. He stood tall among Mao jr, with hard, cold eyes looking down on his son. His arms were folded, which allowed anyone to see the outlines of his impeccable triceps.

When the smoke fully cleared, Mao Sr allowed Mao jr the time to take in his appearance. He didn't mind waiting since he had all the time in the world to spend. However, he couldn't help but speak and search for his son's approval.

"Is this good enough, Onii-san?" Mao Sr said. Even though this form looked exactly like Mao Sr, and the voice undoubtedly sounded like Mao Sr, the way he spoke was still reminiscent of Tsuki. "Is there anything else you would like me to transform to?"

Mao knew that his request was a difficult one, especially for his little sister. Some of his siblings despised their father. He was a cold and sometimes heartless man: he had after all, taken them all from their loving mothers. Tsuki was more outspoken with her emotions, so it was easy to learn how much she disliked father. Yet Mao asked this of her anyways, not because it would bother her, but because it held value to him. She agreed readily and gave a small polite bow, to which Mao could only smile softly at his young sister who tried so eagerly.

It was time to learn this technique. Mao activated his Byakugan, his veins on the sides of his eyes bulging as his vision shifted to see through Tsuki. He focused on her tenketsu points and her chakra molding, intent on ascertaining the secret of the transformation technique through his sister's canny ability. He watched silently as she closed her eyes and focused: for the moment it proved challenging but he was sure that as Tsuki grew in strength, she would be able to perform jutsu like this effortlessly. His all-seeing eyes studied her chakra as she began to perform the necessary handseals. dog → boar → ram. With each handseal, he noted how her chakra changed and molded, going out from her center throughout her body.

Just at the crescendo of the effects of the chakra on the body, Tsuki stood up to attain a standing position where her brother could inspect her after her transformation. A large plume of smoke erupted around her body, enveloping her form and hiding her from all sight but the Byakugan. His eyes still trained on her intently, he witnessed her chakra system expand to compensate for the size of her body as it changed from female to male, and from small to tall. So intent was he on the process, that he nearly missed the moment as the smoke cleared and Tsuki stood there in Mao Sr form. She had caught his image perfectly. Not only had she captured his appearance, but his demeanor as well: well, to a degree. She now looked and sounded like him, and had captured his stance and mannerisms, but Mao couldn't feel the coldness that their father held. "This is good enough Tsuki-chan. I believe I can use this technique now after watching you with the Byakugan."

He stood up suddenly to match height with his little sister who looked and sounded like father, yet spoke to him like a little adorable sister- surely a strange sight indeed if someone was to walk in suddenly. Mao deactivated his Byakugan after a moment and then readied himself to try while his sister watched. He closed his eyes and imaged a form familiar to him, an adorable little form he knew well. He exhaled slowly once to steady his mind and then performed the handseals dog → boar → ram. With each handsign, he could feel his chakra shift and began to mold within his body. Transformation technique! he said mentally as he forced his chakra to take effect upon his body. A large plume of smoke overtook his body suddenly, obscuring him from view unless Tsuki was to use her Byakugan. The smoke remained for a few seconds and then began to dissipate, beneath the curtain of smoke revealed the form which Mao had turned into.

Spoiler:

Mao had taken on the appearance of Tsuki, playing a small joke on her. It was funny because she had lost her form to look like father, so he had taken her form to practice the transformation technique. Mao stood with his petite arms folded behind the lower arch of his back, standing as any girl might while absently looking at someone playfully. "How is this, Tsuki-chan? Now that I have learned this technique, Let's try a different one. Maybe the clone technique? Mao would say playfully with a wink in his eye, ll the while pretending to be his adorable little sister. The sight would become even more strange if Tsuki followed with her usual temperament while looking like the cold and serious father.

Tsuki couldn't hide the sheer amount of red her cheeks were becoming, even in her father's form. Just being around Mao gave her a feeling of nervousness and excitement, and the more time she spent with him the more her heart fluttered.

She never felt this way about a guy before. Maybe it was because, to her, Mao seemed so cool and refined, unlike the idiot men she spent her time with in the academy. Compared to them, Mao jr was a complete saint.

Her happiness only grew when she figured out that she was actually helping her cool Onii-san! He was learning from the jutsus she performed, and mastering them at a very advanced rate! As expected of her genius older brother!

When Mao jr performed the transformation technique, Mao Sr stared with wonder as he watched the smoke appear out of nowhere. He was so caught up in the moment of amazement that he forgot to use the byakugan to see who Mao Jr morphed into. Thus, it came as a complete surprise to Mao Sr when the smoke finally cleared.

"Huh... Me?" Mao Sr stared with amazement as saw the form of his previous self stand where Mao Jr once was. He didn't know how to feel about that.

Seeing his former self in Mao Jr's place was the ultimate compliment for him, yet it felt almost unworthy. For some reason, Mao Sr couldn't put what he felt into words. Mostly, though, he felt flattered.

Then the subject of the clone technique came up.

"Ah, yes! That technique!" Mao Sr said, breaking out of his trance of delight for the slight moment. "It is a lot easier to perform than the transformation technique. I am sure a genius like you will be able to pick it up in no time!" After Mao Sr said that, he giggled, showing just how happy he really was right now.

"Well then, allow me to show you."

Mao Sr performed the Ram → Snake → Tiger hand signs, then focused on his chakra. Unlike the last technique, where he required intense concentration to get the right results, he only needed to focus a little to make this technique work for him.

With little difficulty, Mao Sr summoned a clone illusion. This one shimmered from his body and stood right next to him. It took on the same appearance as his current form, and seemed as real as the real Mao. However, there was a big difference.

"As you can tell, this one is a complete fake," Mao Sr on the right said. He moved his finger to the other Mao next to him. Instead of touching something solid, though, his hand moved right through the clone Mao. "They are like illusions on the mind. You can trick someone with this technique if you use it well."

With a bright smile on his face, Mao Sr looked back at Tsuki in delight. "Now you try, Onii-san."

The pace was good, the environment acceptable. Training in privacy and from his younger sister which made things quite easy for him... it wasn't so bad at all, yet he felt somewhat guilty for learning from his sister instead of good old fashioned hart work. He continued to smile, all the while looking like her. Being the eldest son, his burden was heavy but he kept carrying it while looking proud, happy and graceful. The last thing he wanted, was for any of his siblings to know how distressed and troubled he truly was. Of course in turn, them not finding out would minimize their own stresses and concerns- to Mao, that was the better reason for keeping the strong elder brother appearance. So long as his siblings could smile, little else mattered to him.

Sometimes to smile, required strength. Strength in both the literal and metaphorical sense. Mao needed the physical strength to protect his siblings, but he also needed the emotional strength to shoulder the family's legacy. For now, that required him to rely on his siblings like Tsuki to learn valuable skills and information. At the moment, Tsuki looked like Mao Sr and Mao Jr looked like Tsuki. If someone was to walk into the training room, they would believe that Mao Sr was teaching Tsuki. That mattered little to Mao, though in the back of his mind, he did find that amusing... especially if their father was to walk in and they would have to explain.

He trained his eyes again on Tsuki's father form and the veins around his eyes bulged with the byakugan as he once again monitored her chakra flow and chakra molding. Up came her hands, performing the Ram → Snake → Tiger hand signs. Chakra formed inside her and began to mold and then grow: finally residing in her hands where the handseals were formed. Upon the last seal being completed, the chakra moved from her hands to right beside her where a visual clone was replicated. To the untrained and naked eye, the clone would be quite difficult to distinguish from the real. This was not the case for Mao however, as he possessed the byakugan. With his byakugan, he could see through the illusion clone: it held no tenketsu and its chakra amount was quite minimal, not enough to support a conscious person.

Tsuki had complemented him on his ability to master the first technique, even calling him a genius. That wasn't the case, no not at all. He released the hold on the transformation technique and returned to his real figure as he smiled kindly at adorable Tsuki whether she reverted to her real form or not. "I just have a good teacher, Tsuki-chan. Your big brother isn't that talented.

The clone jutsu... A rudimentary technique and far less complicated than the previous learned jutsu, yet it held value. It was his turn to try the technique. Up he raised his hands, his sleeves of his hakama falling down his forearm as he began to perform the Ram → Snake → Tiger hand signs. Much like how he had seen the chakra form and mold within his sister's body, he did the same and allowed the chakra to flow freely to and from the tips of his handsigns as the chakra moved beside him, invisibly to the naked eye as it began to take shape and appearance. The result? Now two of Mao stood in front of Tsuki. Tsuki was his little sister and the chances were high that she could distinguish the real from the fake even without the byakugan. "You have taught me an interesting technique, Tsuki-chan. I am grateful. Would you teach me the surface walking technique next?

When Mao dropped her form, Tsuki felt an obligation to drop hers as well. With a puff of smoke, her body reverted back to that of her former self. Her shorts returned; as well as her T-shirt and her regular height. She looked around her body, staring at her figure and wondered to herself... Was she cute?

When she saw Mao transform into her, she thought that she had looked incredibly cute. However, was she really cute like the way he represented her?

There were countless boys that actually had the guts to call her adorable, but she always wondered if she was really such. When she looked in the mirror, she seemed too self conscious about herself, calling herself more of a dirty boy than a girl. Maybe if she started wearing a dress... She would seem much cuter?

Tsuki was brought back to the real world when her brother started forming hand signs. Wonderfully, he wove his fingers together and performed the vlone technique. Without much needed training and from just watching her, he miraculously performed the jutsu.

"Great job Onii-san! You have a natural talent for this!" Tsuki beamed with happiness. Once again, she felt completely ecstatic with the prospect of helping her brother with his training. In fact, if they could spend the entire day together, just the two of them, that would mean so much to her.

When Mao said that he was grateful, Tsuki blushed, and when he asked for her to teach him another jutsu, she happily nodded.

"The surface walking technique can't be used in here, though." she told him. "There is nothing to firmly walk onto. Would you like to go outside and use the trees, Onii-san?"

If Mao said yes, Tsuki would lead the way outside, where a forest rested near their home. She would unconsciously skip to the closest tree, while also humming, then she would stop.

"This technique is a bit more difficult," she would say. "But also fairly easy to learn if you put effort into it! It doesn't need hand signs, but some people find that performing the tiger sign helps a little."

Pausing in her speech, Tsuki closed her eyes and once again started focusing. "First, you must place chakra at your feet," she said. She focused some of her power and made it flow down through her legs and to her toes. When she was ready she opened her eyes and looked up the tree.

"Once you do that, you must use your chakra to stick to the tree." She placed one of her foot on the over sized plant she was near. After getting a good foot hold, she dragged her other feet up and leisurely walked on the side of the tree.

When she made it about 4 meters off the ground, she looked down at her brother. "It also helps if you imagine your chakra like something that sticks to something... Like a magnet or gum!"

It was always a pleasant sound, to hear little Tsuki's tone as she praised her big brother. To him, Tsuki was one of the reasons he tried so hard instead of giving up. The admiration and expectation of a big brother, kept him sharp and always eager to improve both his self and his image. To him, letting down his family's expectations and hopes, was one of the worst nightmares he possessed. The fact that he could be here training with his little sister and reaffirming her delighted expectations, was good enough for Mao's happiness. Though he wasn't as openly affectionate and verbally affectionate like Tsuki was, he was very proud and happy- not of himself, but of the close relationship he held with his adorable little sister.

Tsuki agreed wholeheartedly once again to teach him something and that made Mao pleased inwardly. Maybe one of these days, he could teach his sister a thing or two... or at least help her learn something trough trial and error. Tsuki insisted on going outside to learn the next technique- though Mao silently wondered why the outside was necessary. From what he had read and witnessed previously about the Surface Walking technique, most any surface could be walked upon. Practicing walking on the walls or ceiling of the training dojo would suffice, granted their father would think it improper to foot their feet on a surface such as the wall or ceiling. This was after all, their prominent home residence and not a playground. For Mao personally in this situation, he was wearing the wrong kind of garb to learn such a technique. The simplest of wrong movements could reveal more than his forearms or shins!

Tsuki began to walk towards the doors however and Mao nodded silently, agreeing to practice this one outside. Just outside their residence on a side, was a forest- smaller than most due to the island's habitat. Mao and his siblings had played in that forest as they grew up, many times. Tsuki chose one of the closest trees and then pause to explain the basic application of the jutsu. His eyes still awakened with the Byakugan, took in the chakra flow and molding of Tsuki's body as she explained the process to him. Finally, the demonstration as she placed one foot onto the tree after directing the chakra to her feet. Her foot clung to the tree, then her other foot and she turned the angle of her body horizontal, defying gravity itself. Simple but infinitely useful!

Mao was a beginner at this technique though, so it was better to play cautious. Unlike Tsuki, he brought his hands up and performed the Tiger handseal. Somewhat unnecessary due to his clan's chakra control, but to learn a jutsu properly, one had to use it properly. With his Tiger handsign made, he began to flow and mold the chakra from his body, copying from what he had seen of Tsuki. He pushed the chakra from his center, downward through his legs and into his feet, just as Tsuki was explaining how she thought of gum or magnets. For Mao, it was more of a serious matter. To him, he was bending the laws of reality to walk upright while the world itself turned sideways. He place one foot on the tree and then gave a small willful tug to test the strength if it would hold him. It was first, so he slowly brought up his other foot and placed it upon the bark of the tree, finding himself quickly aligned with Tsuki horizontally and the world itself sideways.

It was a strange sense of vertigo at first, it made him laugh a little at the sensation as he stood unconsciously close to his sister for support. He would need to practice this in his spare time to adjust to the difference caused by vertigo. "This technique, is quite useful Tsuki-chan. Imagine the new ways we can all play tag. I learned a lot from you today, but I must go see father. Let's train again soon.[EXIT][Total WC=2,680]

Tsuki knew that this technique was the most toughest to learn, so she felt nothing but fear when she saw Mao try it. Would he get angry at her and resent her if she didn't help him with this, or give him good advice?

Most importantly, she worried for if he fell and hurt himself. So far, Tsuki had rarely thought of any other guy this way. If men fell and cried, it were their problems to deal with, but with Mao it was different. Was it weird, these feelings she had for her older brother? It was like her admiration went further the more she thought of it. Was something becoming wrong with her?

Thankfully, Mao did not fall, nor did he verbally punish her for her terrible teachings. Like everything else, he picked up the technique rather quickly. When Tsuki noticed this, her heart and worries calmed a little.

Listening to his next words, she was almost saddened to hear that he had to go. However, when their father was involved, there was no arguing against it.

So, she merely placed on her brightest smile and nodded, waving her older brother away.